The use and development of communications has grown nearly exponentially in recent years. The growth is fueled by larger networks with more reliable protocols and better communications hardware available to service providers and consumers. In many cases, users, systems, equipment, devices, and other telecommunications elements make service and control decisions based on the state of the system. In many cases, the state information provides insufficient detail to determine the true functionality and capabilities of the system. For example, many systems may only indicate functional or non-functional.